1. Field
The present disclosure relates to the sending and receiving of electronic mail (email). More particularly, the disclosure is directed to the management and control of email message size.
2. Description of the Prior Art
By way of background, when email messages are used to convey information to a group of recipients, not every recipient necessary wants or needs to know the details of each message. For example, if the email recipient group is an engineering design team, the group manager(s) may request to be sent courtesy copies of email messages exchanged between rank and file design team members, but may have no intention of reading each message and its attachments. In that case, the manager may specify that the courtesy copies be marked with an appropriate identifier in the message subject line that flags the message as a courtesy copy that the recipient may read at his or her leisure. In order to automate the handling of such courtesy copy messages, the manager might define a rule in his or her email client that stores such messages in a separate folder for subsequent viewing if there is a need to consult the information.
A disadvantage of the foregoing scenario is that the courtesy copy recipient receives full email messages and attachments. This consumes network bandwidth and storage space on email servers and clients, all of which may be at premium, particular in enterprise email environments. Accordingly, applicants have identified a need for an improved technique for handing courtesy copy email messages.